If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

I got my Henry in 327 federal, best $700 I ever spent. They are probably the best brand of firearm out there currently as far as value and they really listen to their customers. That was another reason I went with 41 mag, Henry 41 mag is a 1:18 twist, while the 44 mag is a slow 1:38. I have no idea why I'd need it, but knowing myself I'd always want the heavier bullets.

Henry is a good example of why I say my 57 is junk. Ignoring the major problem, for $900 the rest of the gun is just... meh. It's no classic like my dads 57-2, now that is a real gem. I've made worse purchases through, and if the gun comes back shooting good I'm sure I'll forget about it.

I own a bunch of Smiths, but I do not own any made after the Bill Clinton era. My late shooting bud had real issues with a couple of late model 38's and 357's that he decided he really needed... both went back and only one came back the other was replaced. It was a bad deal for him.

I hope you have better service than I had with a 625-8 that shot patterns. They replaced the cylinder and it shot worse when I got it back than when I sent it. I refused to send it back again so I spent a day carefully hand honing out two very tight cylinders, polishing the crown and forcing cone. I got it shooting pretty decent but still not like some I've seen. It's acceptable now for my needs but I suspect it is also my last late model S&W revolver (semi-autos seem to fare better). And yes, I have about 30 pre lock S&Ws revolvers.

Since somewhere in the mid 50's I think S&W has always had issues getting cylinder bores done right. There have been a lot of gunsmiths that have made their livings fixing them. Best example would be the revolvers of the model 24/25 series.. There are just a lot of their guns over the years that were made with cylinder throats that were simply too big. As a caster I've spent a lot of time finding over sized moulds and dies to make bullets big enough to work in them. All of mine shoot pretty good now but a lot of them with over sized cylinders have been passed on to others to tinker with. No, it's not a new problem at S&W but with the improvement in machinery, the problem sure hasn't gotten any better as one might expect.

Best thing to do would be to show up with a box of pin gauges when you plan to buy a new revolver and try to find a good one (at least a uniform one). Also dental mirror and a set of strong reading glasses or magnifying lens of some sort to inspect the crown and forcing cone. Don't forget a good bore light to check the rifling. Basically you need to be your own inspector.

I hope you have better service than I had with a 625-8 that shot patterns. They replaced the cylinder and it shot worse when I got it back than when I sent it. I refused to send it back again so I spent a day carefully hand honing out two very tight cylinders, polishing the crown and forcing cone. I got it shooting pretty decent but still not like some I've seen. It's acceptable now for my needs but I suspect it is also my last late model S&W revolver (semi-autos seem to fare better). And yes, I have about 30 pre lock S&Ws revolvers.

Since somewhere in the mid 50's I think S&W has always had issues getting cylinder bores done right. There have been a lot of gunsmiths that have made their livings fixing them. Best example would be the revolvers of the model 24/25 series.. There are just a lot of their guns over the years that were made with cylinder throats that were simply too big. As a caster I've spent a lot of time finding over sized moulds and dies to make bullets big enough to work in them. All of mine shoot pretty good now but a lot of them with over sized cylinders have been passed on to others to tinker with. No, it's not a new problem at S&W but with the improvement in machinery, the problem sure hasn't gotten any better as one might expect.

Best thing to do would be to show up with a box of pin gauges when you plan to buy a new revolver and try to find a good one (at least a uniform one). Also dental mirror and a set of strong reading glasses or magnifying lens of some sort to inspect the crown and forcing cone. Don't forget a good bore light to check the rifling. Basically you need to be your own inspector.

Well that's not good. I won't pretend to know exactly the problem with mine, but it does seem to be a barrel problem beyond just a simple thread choke. If I got a very tight patch in the bore, I could feel a waviness if that makes any sense, and where the barrel threads into the frame, instead of feeling normal, or a resistance, it felt like a hollow spot. Hopefully S&W comes to the same conclusion. You could not see any of this with a flashlight, so unless you had run a tight patch down the bore in the shop, you would never know until you shoot some paper. I sent mine off over a week ago and have yet to hear back. Fingers cross, but I pretty much wrote it off, maybe I'll see it before fall, but if not, I've got other handguns to use for deer hunting.

I have heard of S&Ws that have "tight" bores where they are threaded into the frame. Cylinder issues seem way more common than barrel problems though. I've never had a barrel issue from a factory defect, only rough crowns and forcing cones. Several of those over the years.

The new EDM bores worry me a little since I only shoot cast. I have not heard anything positive about EDM rifling and cast bullets (especially in magnums).

Well, I hate to hear your story as the 41 mag has been a favorite of mine since it's inception. My first was the Ruger 41 which I purchased at a local gun show. None of my friends had even heard of the 41 mag at the time. My own cast 210 SWC backed with 8 grs. of Unique would hit anything it was pointed at.
I read where you keep putting down on the S&W N-frame grip, That grip was designed by someone who knew nothing about the human anatomy. Look at your hand on the grip and tell me what it looks like, let's see at the top, the thumb reaches all the way around and overlaps and at the bottom, the pinky finger only makes it about halfway around. Competition shooters have laughed at these grips since S&W installed them. They are a waste of good wood and time making them. They are for presentation only, or a starter for the fireplace.
Competition shooters have thrown this grip away for years.
I would check my cylinder with a pin gauge, alignment with a range rod, cylinder gap, end-shake. Find another bbl, have it installed. Find a good shooting grip that you feel comfortable with, load some of the loads that I posted and go to the range. If your 57 still shoots buckshot looking targets, come down here to Louisiana and visit Marie Laveau at her grave site, so that she may remove the curse that has been put on you. Later David

Shooter of the "HOLY BLACK" SASS 81802 AKA FAIRSHAKE; NRA ; BOLD; WARTHOG;Deadwood Marshal;Bayou Bounty Hunter; So That his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat; 44 WCF filled to the top, 210 gr. bullet

I just bought a 57 no dash P&R. Didn't really want it because it's nickel & 83/8". I bought with
Pachmeyers which have already been replaced with S&W targets. I guess I have the price of a
new one in it but it's 95%+ condition. If I sell it I won't be taking a loss. It is worth more to me
as trading stock to get 6"-61/2" Blue N P&Rs. The going rate for high condition guns is $1K around
here. I don't do Nickel, Stainless, fixed sights or 4" or less barrels and have no interest at all in
the new production. For shooting and workman ship there is S&Ws made after P&Rs that are still
fine revolvers. I have a certain dash that is a cut off for my interest but it's not the same on all
models. You have to educate yourself on S&W to make intelligent purchase. Irritating to me is
the pricing of S&Ws with not much relation to condition. N frames P&R seem to be $900 from the
get go. Another PIA is guys raping the Grips to sell separately. 9 out of 10 S&Ws I buy have
aftermarket grips. I deal in older S&Ws and even if it is nice gun, I'm not paying top price for it
with rubber grips. The Grip Mongers want $100 and up for S&W Target grips. I get most of mine
on line for about half that. Some don't like to buy a used gun. In handguns especially there are
the bulk of them that haven't seen 500rds through them and have never been carried. The ones
that have had much use are not hard to spot even with good finish. Look at recoil shield and the
forcing cone for signs of use, besides normal check on running gears. You can't go wrong with a
good P&R S&W. Actually for shooting purposes the S&Ws made post WW2 up until the key hole
models ( speaking in general ) were best guns S&W produced.

It seems like you have to spend $2000 just to have a working handgun anymore.

Ruger says otherwise

I really tried to like the blackhawk, but just couldn't get over the single action grip. At the risk of sounding like a wuss, 41 mag is about all I can shoot well, and I do not feel like I have any control over a single action grip with 41 magnum.

Try a Bisley

Last edited by jonp; 07-22-2018 at 05:19 PM.

NRA Benefactor Life

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
BastiatThe further society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it
George Orwell

In SW's I restrict myself to used, older guns always blued as stainless or nickel doesn't interest me and in good condition. Nothing they make today can surpass them in either quality of build, blueing or accuracy.
For working handguns I buy Ruger's usually Blackhawks. Not the most refined but tough as nails and accurate enough for hunting and self defense.

NRA Benefactor Life

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
BastiatThe further society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it
George Orwell

There is no finer SA revolver than a 3 screw Ruger Blackhawk. Like S&Ws the quality has suffered.
I hear as many complaints on Rugers as S&W, they may have better Customer Service. I pay
no interest to Ruger new models. If it has warning on barrel its to new for me, revolver or auto.
If you can shoot a single action well you will have no trouble with a DA, not visa versa.

Well, the unbelievable happened. My gun came back today in WORSE shape than when I sent it. Unlike any other company, there is almost no mention of what was actually done to the gun. All I have is that they re-cut my forcing cone, and shot it. They cut my forcing cone all right, it's about twice as long as before, and didn't fix jack squat. The barrel is still junk, the anomaly about 1" into the barrel is still there, and on top of that, there is a thread choke now to go along the the bad spot. Apparently they use cast ammo, because the barrel is full, end to end of lead. It almost looks like a smooth bore. I cleaned it 100% spotless before I sent it, the lead is not from me. I got out the lewis lead remover, and scrubbed away. That's when I realized they didn't actually fix anything. You can feel the bad spot in the barrel with a patch or the lead remover. This can not be fixed with fire lapping, it is beyond just a thread choke. I'm afraid how it will come back if I send it in again. They already had the barrel off, I told them it was bad, why would they dink around with cutting a longer forcing cone? And then to shoot it and make it clear as day it's not right? They did not send the target with, I'm sure it wasn't pretty. I guess it's time to get back on hold.

Worst gun I ever bought, from the worst company I ever dealt with. For the sake of sanity, anybody considering a new smith and wesson, stay away.

Even better, after a good cleaning I was doing some dry firing, and the internal lock turned on by itself! Now I have to find the key, or take the gun apart. What a nightmare. I can be a bit of a complainer, but seriously, everything I have written in this thread is true. I wish I could sell it, I just couldn't in good conscience.

I found the key, and it seems there is a spot where you can pull the key out before it is turned all the way. I'm sitting here, still waiting for S&W to pick up the phone. I got the barrel clean, I might just go shoot the thing.

All I have is that they re-cut my forcing cone, and shot it. They cut my forcing cone all right, it's about twice as long as before, and didn't fix jack squat. The barrel is still junk, the anomaly about 1" into the barrel is still there, and on top of that, there is a thread choke now to go along the the bad spot. Apparently they use cast ammo, because the barrel is full, end to end of lead. It almost looks like a smooth bore. I cleaned it 100% spotless before I sent it, the lead is not from me. I got out the lewis lead remover, and scrubbed away. That's when I realized they didn't actually fix anything. You can feel the bad spot in the barrel with a patch or the lead remover.

the bolded parts are what would makes my anger toward them inflates 100%. can't believes they did that.

I would sell or trade it and cut my losses. You are never going to like it at this point and life is too short to get stressed out over a hobby like ours. Find an old Smith 57 or better yet a ruger redhawk and be happy. I have bad experiences with all of them at one time or another. I have had the least issues with ruger.

Sorry, ol man! I like to oldies.... another reason to keep it that way, I guess. My old .38 Special doesn't win any awards, but I like the "used" look, and it shoots well, and action is smooth like butter. Hope they get it fixed up well for you after all your troubles.